HEOS vs Lysoniq
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HEOS
Control a wide range of connected audio devices from Denon, Marantz, and Definitive Technology. Stream music from online services or local storage, and enjoy true multi-room audio with easy setup and intuitive control.
- True multi-room audio
- Quick and easy setup
- Access online music services
- Search across multiple music sources
- Control playback remotely
- Access locally stored music
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HEOS is the controller app for the world’s biggest and best range of connected audio gear. It is a smart music streaming technology found in all devices Powered by HEOS from Denon, Marantz, and Definitive Technology. HEOS is for music lovers who want a beautiful and intuitive way to enjoy the latest advances in connected audio. You can find HEOS built into great sounding AV receivers, Hi-Fi equipment, sound bars, speakers, mini systems and specialty multi-room models. Features: True multi-room audio: play different songs in different rooms or the same song in multiple rooms. Quick and easy setup: add all your speakers with step-by-step instructions. Instant access to your favorite music: play from your favorite online music services, like Spotify, Amazon Music, TIDAL, and more. Search your music in one place: use one search function to browse across multiple music sources. See what’s playing any time: play, pause, and skip music from anywhere in the app. Access locally stored music: play music saved to your phone, USB, analog inputs, computers, and NAS drives. Share with your friends and family: support for multiple users and multiple music service accounts.
Lysoniq
This app allows you to stream Hi-Res Lossless music from Apple Music across your Apple devices with full remote control. It offers advanced library management, true shuffle, and detailed browsing of the Apple Music catalog. Designed for audiophiles, it supports automatic sample rate switching and high-resolution output on compatible devices.
- Cross-device remote control
- Hi-Res Lossless streaming
- Full Apple Music catalog browsing
- Advanced queue management
- True shuffle randomization
- Last.fm scrobbling
- Automatic sample rate switching
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Lysoniq is a premium music player/streamer with cross-device remote control. Install it on your Apple devices to seamlessly play music through any one of them and control the app with the others. Unlike AirPlay, the playing device streams directly from Apple Music at full resolution — enabling Hi-Res Lossless with zero compression or downsampling on compatible devices. Using an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV in your hifi system just became easier. No more extension cables or compromises. Built to handle huge libraries — load thousands of songs into the player without slowdown. Full queue management with swipe to delete, drag to rearrange, tap to skip ahead, and insert into the queue. True Shuffle that actually randomizes your music. Browse the full Apple Music catalog with top songs, albums, and playlists across 30+ cities and countries, 17 genres, and dedicated Hi-Res Lossless and Dolby Atmos sections. Access Made For You, Recently Played, New Releases, live radio stations, and all of Apple Music's personalized recommendations. Your full synced library with sorting and filtering included. Connect and control devices across your home Wi-Fi network with LYNQ. Extend connectivity across cellular data and different Wi-Fi networks with the LYNQ+ subscription. Built-in Last.fm scrobbling with full history and stats. Four themes including Light, Dark, True Light, and True Dark. Built from the ground up with audiophiles in mind. Reviewing audio gear? Use a subloop to focus in on a particular section of a track, with the option to add a timer between loops to switch equipment. Output up to 24-bit/192kHz on iOS, 24-bit/192kHz on macOS (played via Music.app), and 24-bit/48kHz on Apple TV (24-bit/192kHz available on tvOS 27 with latest generation hardware). Now available in 22 languages including Chinese (Hong Kong, Simplified, and Traditional), Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian Bokmål, Polish, Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, and Turkish. Provide feedback to guide its development further and get the features you want. Enjoy all future updates with a one-time purchase. Requires Apple Music installed on your devices and an active Apple Music subscription. See https://www.lysoniq.app/support for more details. Terms of Use: https://www.lysoniq.app/terms License Agreement (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Compatibility includes iOS 16.4+, macOS 14.6+, tvOS 17.6+
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Lysoniq at 93% against HEOS's 24%. Lysoniq also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and device support (4 vs 2). HEOS's advantage is price (Free vs $14.99) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On update cadence, ads, chart position and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
HEOS is free to download; Lysoniq costs $14.99 up front. Lysoniq sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. HEOS asks for nothing beyond the download.
Lysoniq holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HEOS has 27K ratings behind it against 56, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 24% of HEOS's written reviews are positive against 93% of Lysoniq's.
HEOS ships an update every 3 weeks, Lysoniq fortnightly. Both last shipped on September 27, 2026.
| Parameter | HEOS | Lysoniq |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $14.99 |
| Rating | 4.4 (27K ratings) | 4.8 (56 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 24.4% of reviews | 93.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 27K — better | 56 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #206 | #126 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 327 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | D&M Holdings | Tim Fagan |
Customer experience
HEOS
Lysoniq
Bugs and requests
HEOS
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes and freezes frequently
- Speakers randomly disappear from the network
- Volume controls are inconsistent and unreliable
- Sync issues between grouped speakers
Requested features
4 requests- Add support for Apple Music
- Improve playlist management and queue functionality
- Provide better customization options for rooms and speakers
- Implement a more intuitive and user-friendly app design
Lysoniq
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
HEOS
No in-app purchases
Lysoniq
- LYNQ+ Monthly1 Month trial$1.991 Month
Questions
Is HEOS free?
Is Lysoniq free?
Which has better reviews, HEOS or Lysoniq?
Do HEOS or Lysoniq have ads?
Which is updated more often, HEOS or Lysoniq?
Which is more popular, HEOS or Lysoniq?
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